Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Sometimes I'll be standing at the neighborhood burger joint counter, waiting for my flame broiled, half-pound cheeseburger, when someone will step up, look over the menu, and sheepishly order the veggie burger. When this happens, I always say to myself, "you poor bastard." Now, before you get your hemp shorts all bunched up, let me explain.

This person I'm describing isn’t a vegetarian - if they were, they would have ordered the garden burger immediately, and would not have looked so healthy. That they looked at the menu for a few minutes means, momentarily intoxicated with sirloin vapors, they thought about ordering a real beef burger. Then, listening to that little voice in their head (which sounds just like their wife's voice), they come to their senses and order the veggie burger.My empathetic feelings come from the fact that veggie burgers are usually dismally dry, flavorless discs of disappointment. Especially the ones burger joints serve just to spite their vegetarian customers. Well, things may be changing. This video recipe shows how to make a meaty, juicy, delicious meatless burger.

It's my dream that one day, someone will order this amazing mushroom burger, and a person standing next to them, waiting for their half-pound cheeseburger, will say to themselves, "you lucky bastard." Enjoy!

Looks yummy. Although I would hesitate to call it a veggie burger if it has Parmesan cheese, as I think most vegetarians consider Parmesan cheese (which is typically made with rennet) to be a meat product. Then again, I'm not a vegetarian, so I'll let them speak for themselves.

At first I thought, geez, that's an expensive burger for homemade, mushrooms alone would cost me $4.50here but then at the end, you got 4 burgers out of it, so, not expensive at all, sure looks good too.

Chef, now that you have made even brusel sprouts delightful, I wonder if you have any favorite yellow squash recipe.

I am fond of yellow squash and I like it crunchy, pan-roasted (with no oil) in thick slices just salted - the roasting enhances its natural pumpkin-pie like flavor without overcooking the insides. But it is a pretty basic recipe and the browning somewhat spoils the original nice color. I wonder if you know of any tasty ways to prepare yellow squash that do not involve overcooking it into a muddy mess (and then mashing it into a caserole). Thanks.

This was awesome! I think you have negated the oxymoron of delicious veggie burger! I had a little bit of a hard time keeping the burger from falling apart in the pan but they turned out great in the end. Great blog and great recipe! Thanks so much!

That was surprisingly easy and tasty. I've never had a veggie burger before but I will definitely consider ordering one in the future for comparison purposes. As far as them falling apart, I found the less I messed with the mixture (it doesn't have to be a perfectly rounded patty) the less they'd fall apart. Also I cheated and used grated cheese but I think shredded would have worked better in keeping everything together.

I've been watching the videos for a while now but this is the first recipe I actually made. I used baby portobellos that were already sliced, and it was so easy to assemble. The burger was really good even though I used parm from a can (I'm a college student, leave me alone). Thanks so much for this recipe!

Thanks so much for this recipe, Chef John! Because my girlfriend is a vegetarian, I wanted to cook something like this for her...needless to say, the results were fantastic. I even prefer it to my regular hamburgers. The instructions were simple & easy to follow.

On a whim, I made a few spur of the moment modifications just based on what I had in the kitchen (the proportions kept growing, so I ended up getting about 10 burgers!). I used Japanese Panko breadcrumbs (which I find crunchier & far superior than their American counterparts), grated carrot, mashed French lentils (which I thought added nicely to the mushroom-based body), and some cumin & cayenne pepper for a little kick.

HKichen, there are two subs for eggs. One is a product called Ener-G which is a potato-starch-based dry "powder" and is great for baking. You can also substitute 1/4 c mashed/blended tofu for each egg required. This does not have the same binding effect as an egg, but helps somewhat. If you are leaving the cheese in the recipe, that will definitely bind the ingredients. A lot of us vegetarians are just used to eating more crumbly "burgers." ;)

This was DELICIOUS. I'm not a vegetarian and don't mind having a healthier alternative once in a while, but most veggie burgers DO indeed...SUCK. My 11-year-old brother was like...WHAT? OATMEAL!? And then he went on to finish mine as well.

I have been experimenting with veggie burgers and will try this one next. A few quick question before I start: would it be okay to add small bits of carrots, celery, and green peppers? I am always looking for a way to load the veggies in my recipes. Would it dry out the burgers or cause the recipe to need more of the main ingredients? Also, why are egg beaters not considered as substitutes?

I'm going to try this recipe because it does look like it might be good. I do however, disagree with all the comments that veggie burgers are usually bland, dry, bad, etc. I have had such delicious veggie burgers, I don't even LIKE meatburgers anymore! My husband feels the same way, which says a lot! If these burgers even hold a candle to my usual recipe (posted below), I will be impressed. http://www.myfoodgeek.com/2007/04/01/best-veggie-burgers-ever/comment-page-1/

If this is the only non-terrible veggie burger you've ever had, you've lived a very sheltered life, my friend. I will try it, but don't expect much, since it doesn't sound like you have much veggie burger experience. My veggie burgers have completely converted my husband and I.

Okay, so the verdict is in. Let me say I have tried a good number of store-bought and home-made veggie burgers and consider myself fairly experienced. I tried these "Least Terrible Veggie Burgers", and they get a C-. The mushroom flavor is overpowering, and that says a lot coming from a mushroom lover. They are a bit dry. They are edible, but not something I'll make again. Thanks anyway for the recipe. I still say the recipe I posted above (best veggie burgers ever) are just that.

Chef, your veggie burger turned out great1!! Thanks a lot!! Liked them better than any you get in the store, what's more? They are preservative free!!!! I couldn't imagine a home-made veggie burger could taste so great. It's easy to make without a long list of ingredients...

Mine came out a little soggy. It would make sense to make sure the mushrooms are absolutely dry before chopping and adding breadcrumbs, etc? (They were when I made them, but I'm wondering if I should have left the mushrooms on the pan longer...) Or is this just how they're going to taste?

i tried these burgers today. this is so good and super easy!thanks a lot!i added some pecorino to the mix and had it on a homemade roll with some harissa mayonnaise and corn salad (you should try this. and no, it has nothing to do with corn ;)

I also tried these burgers today and we loved it! They are very easy to make and delicious! I melted some cheese on top and we ate them with brown rice and salad.Very good for a main dish and I will also try it in a sandwich. Thank you for the recipe!

I agree with the think about veggie burgers in restaurants. It's like they purposefully cook all the moisture out of the things! (Except at burger king. The Garden Burgers they serve are actually quite moist. It's just, I'm not a fan of BK, and will only eat there if I'm out of town at a con, and the lines are way too long at the other places.)

As an afterthought... People wanting to sub here and there on the recipe: Check vegweb.com for their substitute advice. They were a good starting point for me, and now in most cases I am able to figure out what would sub well in different instances. When a recipe calls for breadcrumbs, I make almond bread, then make my own bread to cut down on unnecessary carbs. PCOS is NOT a carb friendly condition.

I made these today as the next step in my efforts to become a convert to mushroom loving. I cut the recipe in half since I was just cooking for myself but I forgot to half the cheese amount (what a shame...)

They were delicious and very satisfying. I didn't even have to use ketchup, which i usually load onto veggie burgers to cover up the taste. I will pass this recipe along to all my veggie loving friends. Thanks (:

This looks like a very good recipe for veggie burgers, so thanks for that! However, you seem to have soemthing against vegetarians--that's not very nice! Many of us are very nice people. By the way, most vegetarians eat cheese and dairy (lacto-ovo vegetarians). Its vegans who eschew dairy and eggs, so they wouldn't use the parmesan or the eggs.

I've made these burgers a couple of times now, and the taste and consistency amazes me every time. I'm really looking forward to the summer barbeques, and I'm definitely going to try and grill these!

In the meantime, I made too much of the mix last night, and I ended up tucking 3 patties in the fridge. I'm now unsure of how long I'll be able to keep them there before they start to go bad (I have dinner plans tonight and tomorrow night), and whether or not you can freeze them like regular meat patties. Any thoughts?

Just making sure the recipe is still here to point people to. I'm still making this ever since it was first posted. I love a good hamburger, but these are really addictive! Now I finally have something to do with all the mushrooms when they're on sale...one of the best uses ever!

I did these tonight and used plain bread crumbs. Can you also use seasoned bread crumbs? I used lots of garlic and onion to sautee the mushrooms, but still thought the patties lacked a bit of flavor. I'll try these again but in a smaller portion, I made 4 patties since I only had jumbo bums in the fridge. Next time I'll do 6 burgers.

My first attempt is a homerun! from looks to taste this is a brill recipe. My only problem is that it has cheese and the wife is vegan. is there anything else I could substitute this with? She says nutritional yeast slightly wet. btw I found you on utube.

I've made these burgers twice this week now, as my husband and I have recently went vegetarian and I was struggling to find a filling that would serve as something substantial enough to replace a burger. These mushroom burgers definitely do that, I can't believe how filling they are! They are truly delicious, and I shall now love you forever. I have added chopped walnuts to my mix to give a little extra crunch, and it works out really well.

I made this today with a few changes: I cooked a mix of white and portabella mushrooms with 1 green bell pepper, 1 white onion, garlic pepper, cumin, kosher salt, and Italian dried oregano in olive oil. Once cooked, I mixed in 2/3 cup panko (instead of the mixed oats, I forgot them at the store), 3/4 cup Italian style bread crumbs w/ Romano cheese, shredded mozzarella cheese, pickled artichoke hearts, sliced black olives, and 2 large beaten eggs. I then fried the burgers in olive oil and served on wheat burger buns topped with mayo and romaine lettuce w/ a side of potato salad. They're delicious!

I made your veggie burger, and it is absolutely delicious. I'm a complete amateur in the kitchen (mostly cause I'm only 16 years old, and my parents won't let me cook lest I blow up the stove) and it turned out wonderfully. Thanks so much for the healthy recipe, and for helping me impress my parents :D

The recipe sounds great, but I dislike squishy burgers, and after reading the comments and watching the video, I am concerned that the burgers might be a bit moist for me. I plan to add a little TVP to the mix in order to absorb some of the fluid and to give it more of a ground meat texture. My only question would be when to add it and how much. Because the purpose of this is to absorb as much moisture as possible, I feel that I should wait until most of the liquid has evaporated, and just add it to the pan for the remaining cooking time. This would use less than the 1 to 1 ratio typically suggested for TVP, and would allow it to continue to absorb moisture as the patties themselves cook. However, I am afraid that being too dry would add to the tendency of the product to crumble. Would letting it sit overnight reduce this problem? Would a gooier cheese help to bind the ingredients better, or would it make it seem even wetter?

It looks phenomenal, but do you happen to know the actual amounts of ingredients, you know, metric-system-style? When it comes to cooking, I get lost quite easily (read: I suck at cooking), seeing everything in grams and cls makes me feel so much more comfortable. Thanks in advance! Andries

I made these last night for my husband and myself, they were fantastic!

I had an idea when I was making them that this recipe could also be good as a 'meat'ball recipe. Not a crazy idea, since they have onions, garlic, parm, Italian bread crumb, oregano, and eggs just like my traditional meatball recipe.

There was enough of the mix to make 2 nice burgers, which we devoured last night. :) I rolled the remaining mix into 6 medium sized meatballs.

I cooked them in a pan just as I did for the burger, and them put them on top of spaghetti with a quick homemade tomato sauce. They were awesome!

Thanks for the great recipe! These are both going to be a standby for us! :)

I made this three times since my original question, changing it each time, and each time it was almost – but not quite – awesome. There was always "something" missing though. Here's what I finally came up with:

Add TVP after mushrooms begin to brown, but before all liquid has evaporated. Continue to cook until mushrooms finish browning, and TVP has absorbed all moisture. Everything else is the same, except that this does need to rest for at least an hour in the fridge. The TVP is likely to crumble, so if you try to make the patties before giving the mix that rest, they don’t hold together as well.

About the changes: The amount of mushrooms of course had to be reduced because of the bulk added by the TVP. It still made 7 thick patties.

I used sour cream at the end because I thought the mix looked a little dry, but knew an extra egg would have been way too much. I might not have needed to add any, had I incorporated the TVP earlier in the cooking process, but actually I liked the flavor it added, so I think I’ll keep it in, in future batches.

I omitted the oregano (I’m not a fan of it outside of tomato-based dishes) and from past attempts, knew that the soy flavor needed both heat and a background flavor associated specifically with beef - hot sauce and a splash of Worcestershire did the trick.

I topped it with your Romesco sauce (replacing the anchovies with tapenade to keep it vegetarian) and this was that special something that the burgers needed. Almost awesome became totally awesome.

I made this version for friends (meat-eaters, all) and they raved. The only thing that could have made it better was bacon.

Chef John,These are awesome! I made a cheese-free version (lactose intolerant) and added some beans for protein.If anyone wants to see my changes, the recipe is here.Thank you so much for the fantastic videos. I'm really enjoying your blog!

Super delish!! I've been living in Veracruz, Mexico the past few years, and it's impossible to find a veggie burger here. I've tried a few other recipes but was never happy til I found yours. All the ingredients are available locally, and it was simple & easy to prepare. LOVED it!! Even my non-veg friend enjoyed it.

I have a Mexican friend that is a fellow vegetarian and loved em so much that she's thinking about making em and selling at local festivals & such. She confirmed that nobody offers a veggie burger here and that these would be a hit!! You may have helped start a veggie burger trend here in Mexico :D

For those concerned about animal rennet in Parmesan cheese buy Kraft cheese. Okay, I admit Kraft isn't the best, but fine Italian parmesan contains rennet. As for now, Kraft is the only brand, I'm aware of that contains vegetarian safe rennet. Does anyone have any other suggestions to safe vegetarian parmesan cheese's available in Canadian stores?

Chef,I made these today and they are wonderful!!! We are not vegetarians in any way whatsoever!!!! And we loved them! My husband is a meat and potatoes man all the way and he said this was better than any hamburger he has ever had. LOL! Thank you for the recipe!

This is the tale of two burgers for me. The first time I tried to make this it was a disaster. The patty didn't stick at all and it fell apart while sauteing. I wound up eating bits and pieces of my "burger" with a fork.

Still, this had great taste, and I wanted to perfect the burger. the second time, I ran the cooked mushrooms and onions through a meat grinder. The consistency was more like ground beef for sure. I needed to use more breadcrumbs, but the patty stuck together surprisingly well.

I just made these tonight but I modified.I did not use any oil or cheese. I used just egg whites instead of whole egg. I added ground flax seed and 1 pkg. of knox gelatin (unflavored) for extra protein. They turned out great. Thank You. Now to freeze a couple burgers to see if the taste/flavor is still there.

1. In a saucepan, saute the mushrooms, garlic, and onion together. Add apinch of salt.2. When not quite dry, add oregano.3. When all the liquid dries and they get a little color, take them out.4. Place the mushrooms into a large bowl. Add oats, breadcrumbs, salt,pepper and mix. When mixed, stir in Parmesan. After thoroughly combined,add beaten eggs.5. Allow to sit for 15min or refrigerate for next day.6. When ready, form into patties7. Fry patties in olive oil 5-6 mins/side.

As WitchyWoman said on 1/16/11, and others who have commented here, change things up! If you're feeling adventurous (or bored of the same old recipe), don't be afraid to make smart substitutions for the spicing (instead of the oregano, I've substituted churizo spice mix), in another recipe I added a cup of blackbeans, in another, corn kernals, and often substitute other kinds of hard cheese. Chef John has created a WONDERFUL burger recipe for which my wife and I thank him! We ALWAYS make a double batch and keep a bunch on hand in the freezer, ready to go.

Great job. I love that you don't fool with nonsense like TVP and worry about gluten free, etc.

I prefer to be as vegan as I can - but - hell - sometimes you just need a binder.

I also resented people's variations. But have to admit, I too made a few. I wanted some walnuts in my diet and thought it a good way to incorporate some. So I added a half cup. I also used Romano rather than Parmesan as that is what I had on hand and what I typically use (I'm southern Italian and tend to prefer its saltiness). I also used quick cooking steal cut oats as that too was on hand.

Lastly, I added a T of roasted sesame oil.

These patties stayed together brilliantly and were really a great success which I attribute to you. My sense is your recipe as it stood would have been perfect. My changes were, with respect, only minimal due to personal preferences and as a result of what I had.